OUR pROGAM
Asian Youth Academy (AYA) / Asian Theology Forum (ATF) 2024
Theme: “Youth Fighting Against Poverty and Corruption, Suporting Sustainable Future in Asia”
19th-29th September 2024
CBCP – NASA BEC Development Center Cavite, Tagaytay, Philippines
CONCEPT NOTE
BACKGROUND
As of December, 2023, we would like to suggest some key words for the year 2024 related to the Catholic Church in Asia: Wars between Russia and Ukraine, and Israel’s war on Gaza; the 2nd assembly of the World Bishops’ Synod on Synodality in October, 2024; among Popes Pope Francis’ visitation to Mongolia first time ever in 2023 and his new Papal Exhortation Laudate Deum (Praise God), the 2023 World Day of Peace Message on HOPE new Apostolic Letter titled Ad Theologiam Promovendam (To Promote Theology) released; Conference of the Parties, or Cop 28 & 29 in 2023 and 2024 respectively. In the situation, Peace and Integral Human Development to be realized first in the war-torn area should be focused on once again and Synodality or “Journeying Together’ or collaborating with the whole People of God as Communion of Community needs to be reexamined. Also, to be bear in mind is what Pope Francis’ praised Chinese Catholics by calling them “noble” people and asking them to be “good citizens” and “good faithfuls” at the same time when he visited Mongolia. Cop 28 and 29 in Dubai, the UAE and Azerbaijan each tuned well with and echoed by Laudate Deum should come up with productive result for sustainable future for humanity. For this theology should be contextualized not too much depending on “Desk theology” like what Pope Francis clearly asserted in his Apostolic Letter Ad Theologiam Promovendam released in October, 2023.
In the continent living religious and cultural diversity and pluralism as its people’s lifeline, ‘good religious people’ must be ‘good citizens’ for peace in Asia where religions and cultures are deeply and intimately intertwined one from another. That is one of reasons why ALL Forum would put the ideas of “Interreligious/intercultural citizenship” and “Intercultural spirituality” key ideas in providing proper formation programs for youth.
PURPOSE & METHODOLOGY
Following Pope Francis’ teachings, ALL Forum as a Non-Formal Education (NFE) platform promotes the church of “going out to” the poor and the marginalized. In this, three elements are distinguished: 1) Collaborations among diverse-oriented organizations, 2) providing on-going and holistic programs for youth formation on pan-Asian level and 3) promoting “wider ecumenism”. Put it more closely, ALL Forum is based on concretized and praxis-centered collaborations among 10 partners as of December, 2023: lay-centered theological research institute of Woori Theology Institute under which there is the Center for Asian Peace and Solidarity (CAPS, Korea); spirituality- centered Fondacio Asia, Philippines; Indigenous Peoples (IPs) & ecology-focused Jesuit Companion for Indigenous Ministry (JCIM, Philippines) & Research and Training Center for Religio-cultural Community (RTRC, Thailand); a lay-centered training and formation for lay missionary (LAMIN, Myanmar) & a lay-centered Theology Institute for Laity(TIL, Pakistan); and IMCS-AP (International Movement of Catholic Students) as a major Catholic student movement in Asia located in the Philippines.
The meeting of ALL Forum Board members has officially approved in December, 2023, EAEC or East Asia Evangelization Center in Korea, ASW or Asian School of Wisdom in Malaysia, and CLUMP or the Communal Life of Love and Unity of the Mountain People in Thailand. They will work as new partner organization of ALL Forum from the next year on. Secondly, from its close collaborations of the groups, ALL Forum could provide customized and holistic formation programs for young lay leaders in Asia. Lastly, ALL Forum focuses on Catholics but is not limited to them. It promotes a wider ecumenical, inter-religious and inter-cultural encounter and learning for mutual growth.
TIME TABLE
The format of the AYA/ATF program is Exposure-Immersion; Workshop; Cultural Exploration & Visitation. Read more the program detail schedule here.